gair rhydd | freeword Cardiff ’s student weekly Issue 1059 gair rhyddy Monday 5th October 2015 Also in this issue Advice: Working for the UN at uni P10>> Comment: Defining “disability” “No concern for safety” P13>> Student anger at taxi drivers t Taxi drivers reported to have refused to take students travelling short distances in wake of recent sexual assaults (more on page 5) t Students’ Union’s ‘Safe Taxi’ scheme compromised t Students tell of drivers “fragrantly disregarding” complaints and using “tricks of the trade” to fl eece customers when trying to fi nd a taxi home to Cr- Hackney Cabs Association refused to Anna Lewis wys Road. accept the misbehaviour of its taxis. Pictured: Politics: Corbyn’s first few weeks Talking to Gair Rhydd she said “by In a comment made to Wales On- A taxi pulled up ardiff taxi drivers have come this point I was outraged but also a line, chairman Mathab Khan stated on Catherine P18>> under fi re after refusing to drive little scared that I wouldn’t get a ride that “99 per cent of taxi drivers in Car- Street, near Cstudents for short distances, back when I was on my own. We had diff are very helpful”. Catahys Terrace only days after a series of sexual as- already been told not to go home by He added: “Our advice to our drivers (Photographer: saults and pressure for students to use ourselves since some of the attacks is to be as helpful as you possibly can, Anna Lewis) the Safe Taxi Scheme. had already occurred”, she said. especially to lone female students.” Despite both the University and “It is incredible to think that we have According to Khan, customers are police advising students to take taxis to beg them to do the job that they are only refused if they are too drunk to home following the attacks, taxi driv- there specifi cally to do and get paid travel. However this has been disput- ers have turned down requests to go for. Th ere is no concern for the safety ed by multiple students who made at- to areas such as Cathays due to their of their potential customers or aware- tempts to get home after working late close proximity to the city centre. ness of the danger their actions could in the city centre. Meanwhile, Cardiff University’s own put someone like me in.” Whilst Cardiff University has ad- taxi Scheme has come under scrutiny In a similar situation, Lois Cernyw vised its students to use its Safe Taxi by students, after voicing concerns also voiced her anger after asking Scheme during this time, some have that the system would have limited ef- seven diff erent taxi drivers to take her also expressed doubt about the system fect in the case of a real emergency. home from Cardiff Central without currently in place. At the height of security concerns luck. At the moment, those wishing to during Freshers’ week, third year stu- “Cardiff taxi men are a disgrace. It use the scheme, which allows people Science: Is there life on Mars? dent Bronwen Weatherby explained was at 12.30am,” she added. to travel even without enough money, Continued on that she was turned down fi ve times However, when confronted, Cardiff must prebook the taxi by phoning up page 4 P27>> 2 EDITORIAL Gair Rhydd Coordinator Elaine Morgan Editor Joseph Atkinson Deputy Editor the free word Shanna Hamilton News Anna Lewis Stay safe and be represented Advice Gwen Williams Talk to us if you’ve been aff ected or feel like you don’t have a Comment Em Gates voice at university Charley Griffiths While the scheme has been rolled length of journey is truly awful. tant to undertake. David Williams Joseph Atkinson out eff ectively and the vast majority It is our responsibility to protect Too often students are taken ad- of students have been informed over each other in such times, and despite vantage of, whether it is by tricky taxi Columnist t’s been a pretty grim couple of a range of platforms, its introduction the fact that two men have now been drivers or landlords who think they Helena Hanson weeks in terms of student news in has not been without its issues. arrested following the attacks, there won’t care or won’t be able to do any- ICardiff . Firstly we saw three sexual With the Rugby World Cup current- remains an uneasy climate because of thing if they do. Th ere are plenty of Politics assaults take place in and around the ly ongoing, taxis have become harder the events. avenues off ered by the University and Carwyn Williams heavily student-populated areas of Ca- to come across in Cardiff especially on Th e ‘Safe Taxi’ scheme is not with- Students’ Union to help if you feel you Luke Brett thays, and there was also confi rmation game days. out its fl aws – the fact that taxis have have been treated unfairly or have had of a student death at a university hall However the reported behaviour of to be pre-booked in order for the pay- to pay over the odds for low-quality Science of residence. some taxi drivers from a number of ment scheme to be applicable is prob- services. Maria Mellor Th e SU has responded swiftly and students is nothing short of shocking, lematic. For example, how likely is And also, if you feel that you’ve responsibly to protect its students especially given the context. a student to think to pre-book a taxi been unfairly treated, talk to Gair Societies against the potential dangers that they In the aftermath of what has been a in a loud, busy club after a few vodka Rhydd. We’re always interested in Aletheia Nutt face on nights on in implementing the pretty sobering couple of weeks after doubles? representing students on issues that ‘Safe Taxi’ scheme, whereby a student the events of the Freshers’ period in Th is issue more broadly tackles they feel are unfair or are worthy of Taf-Od who has lost their money will book terms of the sexual assaults, the fact some of the archenemies of students, attention. Th e last couple of weeks Carwyn Williams a taxi, giving their name and student that vulnerable students on nights out starting with taxi drivers, and then have brought home that while student number, and then pay for the journey are being turned away from taxis on moving on to landlords and letting life might be a lot of fun and games, Park Life at a later date. the basis of fi nancial factors such as agencies. While the statistic that there are very real issues out there Vacant around 41% of student properties are that aff ect students. in need of repair work is pretty damn- A student newspaper should serve Sport CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS ing, it isn’t entirely surprising. the best interest of students and bring Jim Harris In our previous issue (no. 1058), dated 14th September 2015, in the article en- In second year the ceiling of our important issues to the attention of James Lloyd titled ‘Th e Gair Rhydd guide to STIs in the Science section, it was claimed that dining room caved in, and while the the wider world as well as the univer- Jason Roberts “Cardiff University has a sexual health clinic open in the Health Centre on Park landlord fi xed it quickly enough, it sity community. Th is is what we aim Jamie Smith Place”. Th is clinic has in fact been closed for for over a year. Th e GP surgery on was pretty much unusable for the rest to do, on top of being informative, en- Park Place now take appointments for sexual health issues during the daytime, of the year. Similarly, now in third tertaining, thought-provoking, and of Social Media Editor and are open 12:30-2:30pm Monday - Friday. Online articles have been updated year, there are an abundance of small as high a quality as possible. So stay Jack Boyce to refl ect this repairs that our landlord seems reluc- safe, and let us help. Proofreaders Lisa Carr Lizzie Harrett Nathasha Laytham Eleanor Parkyn THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: GAIR RHYDD 370 Want to be an editor? 03/10/1990 We have editorial vacancies in News, Politics Th is week in history, we look at issue 370 – way nold Schwarzenegger fi lm reviews and Royal Air and Science. Email editor@ back in October 1990: a time when many of you Force recruitment adverts, rather topically comes gairrhydd.com if you’re reading this were probably not around. Th e appar- up a story on nights out in the Student’s Union. interested. ent “accommodation crisis” is the front page story Topical only for one paragraph, where it is revealed as author Sion Hoskins reports that many of the that “out of the kindness of its heart and the depths Get involved 2,750 new undergraduates are “being forced to face of its pockets the Union provides free buses to the Editorial conferences are up to the fact that they will have to spend at least top of Albany Road”, intended for those students each Monday at 5pm. their fi rst few days of University in temporary ac- travelling to accommodation in Roath and further Proofreading takes place at commodation”. Pictured are a pair of fi rst year stu- afi eld after nights out. Now there’s an idea. 6pm on Thursdays in the media dents enjoying their “luxurious” temporary rooms.